Harlan Band
Harlan Band is one of the students aboard The Christa; he is the oldest of the group and the only minor from Earth. Biography Harlan Band is a student from the Starcademy and self-appointed leader of the student-crew of The Christa. Personality His personality is dominated by high self esteem, general cockiness and a distrust of authority; he does not like taking orders or taking criticism, which is probably why his academic performance suffered and landed him in with the other "space cases" in the remedial class despite his above-average intelligence and resourcefulness. He holds Commander Goddard in some esteem as a member of the Stardogs, but, again, his distrust of authority will not allow him to fully trust or open up to his mentor. His attitude toward T.J. Davenport is even more abysmal; he does not really respect her and often is the instigator or at least accomplice in pranks perpetrated against the uptight assistant principal. He is fairly laid-back and generally gets along with others reasonably well (so long as they do not attempt to tell him what to do). One exception, however, is Radu. Harlan harbors a strong prejudice against Andromedans and as such does not trust or like Radu despite the others' repeated attempts to get in his good graces. This prejudice is borne of the fact that Harlan's father, a Stardog, perished in the Spung War, which the Andromedan race unwillingly participated in as slaves of the Spung. Despite the fact that Radu could not have possibly been involved in the war, Harlan seems to feel he's guilty by association anyway. Throughout the series, though, Harlan softens up a bit on the subject of Radu and seems to be at least attempting to judge his classmate on his own merits rather than through the lens of his prejudice. They achieve a strained friendship by the end of Season 1, though not without a few reservations on both ends. Harlan's relationship with his step-father Admiral Cody is tense as well, as the Admiral's general opinion of Harlan is that he is undisciplined and not suitable S.T.A.R.D.O.G.S. material. Admiral Cody is also a highly critical, discipline-obsessed man who was probably not easy to grow up with, nor particularly forgiving of any his step-son's childhood mistakes. The constant criticism and lack of affection from his step-father may possibly be a factor in Harlan's idolization of his deceased father and anger toward the Andromedan race over his father's untimely death. The relationship is probably also the source of his distaste for authority. This dysfunctional relationship may also be one of the reasons for his inability to retain any truly close friendships; he maintains casual friendships with the other members of the crew but does not seem to confide in any of them without some difficulty and is not prone to expressing his inner feelings without being pressed into doing so. Harlan is very athletic and well-versed in hand-to-hand combat and martial arts, able to defend himself somewhat even against Radu's greater physical strength; he has also been seen practicing his fencing skills against Radu. He is an excellent pilot and is often seen at the helm of The Christa, though generally under the guidance of Goddard. Harlan seems to have a crush on both Catalina and Suzee at different times throughout the series. Trivia Walter Emanuel Jones, and by extension, Harlan, is missing his left middle finger due to a childhood accident. Category:Characters Category:The Crew